The wife and I decided to start "eating better" and hitting the gym about 3 months ago. We have really cut down our bad fats, and have moderate carb intake (<1g per lb). Upped the protein intake to about 1.5g per lb. So far, we've been hitting the gym about 5-6 days a week, but the last month or so has just been terrible with all of the New Year's resolution people. Hoping it will calm down in a bit. So far things have been going well. I've lost about 20 lbs of fat, and gained about 10 lbs of muscle (went from 36" to 30" jeans). My wife has lost about 5 lbs of fat, and gained 2 lbs of muscle.

That’s some fantastic progress Steve, keep up the good work and keep us posted. I agree that gyms can suck this time of year especially if you work during the day and have to hit the gyms when everybody else does.

Looks like your making good progress too Doc. Sounds like you have a solid plan. I especially like doing supersets they way you are to speed things up so your not just sitting around killing time to do the second set of the same exercise.

I’m glad I don’t have a desk job, planed it that way. Not sure what I’m going to do when I retire in 6 years since I’m likely to sit down and grow roots in my HT.

-all round "Essentials" supplement by Usana (two multimineral and two antioxidant pills). I did extensive research to find the best supplement on the market, and Usana was recommended on many sites. The best thing about the company is that they mail you the supplements (they can't be purchased in store) automatically, based on when you are ready for a refill. The supplements aren't cheap, but they are extremely high quality; I highly recommend them.

-Evening primrose oil, which contains GLA (Gamma Linoleic Acid). It's an EFA that is claimed to have many benefits, but like all EFA's, it's basic function has to do with cells.

-an additional 600 mg of vitamin C. Yes I know, 400 mg is the RDA, and we excrete the rest out in our urine. However, Linus Pauling was a pioneer in the use of macro amounts of vitamin C. I currently take approximately 1600 mg a day.

-Grapefruit seed extract. It's one of, if not the best natural supplement that acts as an antibiotic. One of its main uses is in the treatment of urinary tract infections, and it's proven to be more effective than cranberry.

-Phytoberry (two capsules, three times daily) . I started taking this about three months ago and highly recommend it. I take it in capsule form, but I have tried the powder, and it tastes really really good. It's a highly concentrated antioxidant and fruit supplement. Here's some information on it.

And at lunch I take zinc along with the two capsules of Phytoberry.

I used to take flax seed oil, then added fish oil (NutriSea herring oil), but now solely take hemp oil. From my research, it's the best non-animal oil that you can take.

I also have completely removed bovine milk from my diet, as there are no benefits to it whatsoever, other than potassium which you can safely get from bananas. I'm a huge opponent of bovine milk as it is the cause of many ailments; most notably osteoporosis and allergies. It's really disgusting once you know what you are drinking. Heck, I'm a country boy, I grew up on the stuff, including drinking it right from the milking parlor.

Instead, I drink almond milk. I used to drink soy milk, but it can mess around with your thyroid, so then I switched to rice milk, but again did extensive research and concluded that almond milk is the healthiest.

As far as my juicing goes, I have a Champion Juicer (one of the best) and make my own vegetable Clamato cocktail once a week. Because fresh juice doesn't last long if it's not sealed properly, thus adding the risk of botulism, I purchased a vacuum sealable container that is purposely used to preserve freshly made juice for up to three days.

I also make salsa, almond butter, and many other things with my juicer.

I too take a whey protein shake supplement, but only very occasionally because I'm obviously not active to work it off. I originally started taking it in the hopes that it would assist with healing my sores, but no such luck.

Thanks guys, it's really shocked me too. I didn't expect to get this much change in a short amount of time, but I probably did because I was so out of shape for my age. As far as the supplements go, the main supplement I take is protein powder. I just can't eat enough protein naturally, so I need the supplement. It's harder for my wife because asians do not typically eat a high protein diet. We've limited our red meat intake to about once a week (or less) and we're eating a lot of chicken, turkey and pork loin. Of course we also both take our multi-vitamins.

I've been tracking my progress on the bodybuilding.com bodyshape website for anyone interested in how it's coming along. Warning, the before picture is NOT pretty...

Thanks guys, it's really shocked me too. I didn't expect to get this much change in a short amount of time, but I probably did because I was so out of shape for my age. As far as the supplements go, the main supplement I take is protein powder. I just can't eat enough protein naturally, so I need the supplement. It's harder for my wife because asians do not typically eat a high protein diet. We've limited our red meat intake to about once a week (or less) and we're eating a lot of chicken, turkey and pork loin. Of course we also both take our multi-vitamins.

I've been tracking my progress on the bodybuilding.com bodyshape website for anyone interested in how it's coming along. Warning, the before picture is NOT pretty...

I have one of those scales that measures your fat and skeletal muscle using impedance (both feet and hands at the same time). These types of scales are not the most accurate, but it's the best I can do for now. I used the same scale before I started up to now so at least I'm hoping the delta is accurate.

Cam - You have a couple of options for the protein powder with limited activity. The Whey protein I use is very low in calories (60g of protein and only 260 calories). It's Optimun Nutrition Pro Complex. Also, you can opt for a Casein based protein which takes twice as long as Whey based protein to digest. It's the protein that I take at night for a constant slow absorption while I'm inactive, 24g of protein and only 120 calories. It's Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein. Both of the products are linked on my Bodyspace page.

I have one of those scales that measures your fat and skeletal muscle using impedance (both feet and hands at the same time). These types of scales are not the most accurate, but it's the best I can do for now. I used the same scale before I started up to now so at least I'm hoping the delta is accurate.

I have one of those scales too (only measures feet though) and when I tried it said my body fat was 24%. But as long as you are following the same procedures when measuring, like wet feet, then the change should be ok.

The calipers only come with a single measurement point chart but there are many internet sites that have 3-7 site calculator you can plug your numbers into. May not be perfect but IMO more accurate than most scales. And again if your primarily measuring change it should give consistent results.